FCC's top economist is urging farmers to find any way they can to save money, as the ag lender projects a 4.8 per cent decline in farm cash receipts in 2024 on the heels of lower commodity prices.
FCC predicts drop in farm cash receipts for 2024
Interest rates, inputs costs may come down but farmers urged to sharpen their pencils
FCC’s top economic charts to monitor in 2024
Downward trends for cattle, swine herds; positive bent to feed, fertilizer affordability
As we start the new year amid elevated inflation and major headwinds facing the economy, here are our top charts to help make sense of the economic environment for farm operations, agribusinesses and food processors.
Canada’s jobs growth stalls in December as wages accelerate
Declines in goods sector driven by job losses in manufacturing, construction and agriculture
Canada's economy added far fewer jobs than expected in December and the jobless rate remained at 5.8 per cent, but permanent employees' wages increased at the fastest pace in three years, data showed on Friday.
Commodity prices to remain high in 2024, drop in 2025 – HSBC
Most agricultural products expected to outperform energy, industrial metals amid supply constraints, dry weather
Squeezed supply, improved Chinese demand and the global energy transition will keep commodity prices elevated in 2024, before falling the following year, forecasted British banking group HSBC today.
Interest rate relief on horizon: FCC
Central bankers signaling reductions are coming
Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Canada’s largest agricultural lender says Canadian farmers can expect to see interest rate relief in the coming year. In a macroeconomic snapshot released in December, Farm Credit Canada said it expects to see rate cuts totalling 75 basis points (three quarters of a percent) in the latter half of 2024. That’s despite […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans set 6-1/2-week high
Weaker U.S. dollar lifts grains complex
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures touched a 6-1/2-week high on Friday, lifted by uneven crop weather in top soy producer Brazil and fresh export demand for U.S. supplies, coupled with a plunge in the dollar that bolstered corn and wheat futures as well. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) January soybean futures settled up […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Demand, not interest rates, affecting markets
U.S. Fed decision 'pretty much factored in'
MarketsFarm — While key interest rates in the United States will stay put for the time being, corn and wheat prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) declined steadily during the week ended Wednesday. The U.S. Federal Reserve announced earlier Wednesday that the central bank’s policy rate will remain within 5.25 and 5.5 per […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Canola pulling lower
Futures subject to 'financial gravity'
MarketsFarm — Canola futures on the Intercontinental Exchange kicked off the week of Oct. 23-27 with sharp losses, as the most heavily traded January contract busted through its support level of $700 per tonne. Among the reasons for canola’s steep fall, as David Derwin pointed out, were the better than average yields from this year’s […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hog futures hit contract lows
Cattle futures also sag
Chicago | Reuters — Lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange fell to life-of-contract lows on Friday and cattle futures also retreated, pressured by technical selling and worries that a slowing global economy could hurt demand for meat, traders said. Hog futures fell the most, with the benchmark December contract settling down two cents, […] Read more
FCC sees calmer waters ahead for crop input market
Have markets steadied, or is it the pause before another storm?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Farmers can breathe a sigh of relief knowing crop input prices have stabilized as the world adapts to global supply challenges. That was the message as Farm Credit Canada provided its latest update on input prices for the 2024 crop year. Fertilizer prices reached new highs in 2022 when the war in […] Read more
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